Contents

Club
career

Kuffour was brought to Europe by Torino F.C. in 1991 aged just 15, after
playing junior football for local teams in his native country. He
joined FC
Bayern Munich in 1993 from the Italian club. After a loan spell with 1. FC Nuremberg
in 1995–96 he made his breakthrough at Bayern.

Kuffour was also part of the Bayern team which lost to Manchester United due to two
late goals in the 1999 UEFA Champions League
Final. He famously beat the ground in frustration afterwards, a
gesture that endeared him to Bayern supporters. He is the youngest
defender of all-time to score in the UEFA Champions League at the
age of 18 years, 61 days during the match against FC Spartak
Moscow on 2 November 1994 which ended in a 2-2 draw.[3]Kuffour
made over 60 UEFA Champions League
appearances, the most by any African player ever,and is one of the most
decorated African players of all time.

On August 2007, Kuffour had an unsuccessful trial with Premier League
side Sunderland, with a view to a
permanent move. However, manager Roy Keane confirmed he would not be joining
the club in a post match interview after Sunderland's defeat to Liverpool.[5]

On 28 January 2008, Ajax Amsterdam
received Kuffour on a 6-month loan contract, with an option for two
more seasons. He was released following a lack of form, and was
also deemed surplus to requirements by Roma boss Luciano
Spalletti, thus becoming a free agent.

In August, it was thought that Kuffour had joined Russian Premier League side FC Khimki. However, it was
announced on 10 September, by his agent, that he had retired from
professional football with immediate effect.[6] Kuffour
rejected the news saying he will continue playing, and on 26
January 2009 was linked to MLS side Chicago Fire
S.C. when the CEO of US-based Sports to Develop Destitute
claimed he was helping Kuffour finalise the deal.[7] Kuffour
gived on 17 April 2009 his comeback in his homeland Ghana he signed here an contract
with Asante Kotoko[8], he
signed an contract over three months between 30 June 2009[9].

International career

A Ghana international for 13
years, Kuffour won his first cap as a 17-year
old, when Ghana played Sierra Leone on 28
November 1993. He had previously been part of every Ghanaian
national team: junior, youth and olympic level. He was made captain of the team aged 23.

Kuffour also made one appearance for his country at the 2006 FIFA
World Cup finals, against Italy. After a costly
mistake in that first match, a 2-0 loss, he was dropped for the
next three matches, as Ghana bowed out in the round-of-16 match
against Brazil.

Faith, football and
life after football

In 2003, Kuffour revealed to the BBC, in an interview for the 'Heart and Soul'
documentary,[10]that he
wanted to be a priest or a missionary when he
retired from football. In the interview, he also spoke about the
surprised reaction of some German players as he prayed before
games, while also addressing the support he received from fellow
Ghanaian Christians, especially those living in
Munich.

In the same interview, Kuffour also talked movingly about the
death of his daughter, Godiva, in a drowning accident in January
that year. He explained that his Christian faith gave him the
courage to face the future.